Exclusive-JPMorgan CEO says Argentina may not need bank loan, Fed will likely remain independent

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By Tatiana Bautzer

DETROIT (Reuters) -Argentina may not ultimately need a bank loan, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said on Wednesday, adding Argentine President Javier Milei is doing a good job overhauling the country’s troubled economy.

“There is around $100 billion of foreign capital that may well come back to Argentina,” Dimon said in a wide-ranging interview with Reuters in Detroit. “You have major companies that want to invest there now.”

“If Milei could continue to implement his policies for the rest of this term, and maybe for a second term, you could turn Argentina,” said Dimon, who met Milei last month in Buenos Aires. He called the president a “force of nature” and cited Argentina’s inflation reduction and economic growth.

Milei’s party cruised to victory in midterm legislative elections in October as voters handed him a mandate to keep pushing through his overhaul of the economy, which has included deep austerity measures.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last month the department was working with banks and investment funds to create a $20 billion facility to invest in Argentina’s sovereign debt.

A potential loan from the banks to Argentina “may not be necessary,” Dimon said. JPMorgan has been present in Argentina for over 100 years and has been involved in its previous debt restructurings. “We have done special financing to Argentina in the past; if they need that, we’re all ears.”

Dimon also said he believed the U.S. Federal Reserve would remain independent, although he stressed U.S. President Donald Trump will continue to express views on rates, and presidents are typically in favor of lower interest rates.

“The president has made clear he believes in Fed independence. He’s also made it clear he’s going to speak his mind freely,” Dimon said. “I think it will remain independent.”

Below is a transcript of the Reuters interview with Dimon, which has been edited for length and clarity.

CREDIT CONCERNS THAT WEIGHED ON BANK STOCKS

“Some of these issues that came up that were not good, and there wasn’t one of them, there were several, so my antenna goes up when I see that… We’ve had basically 15 years of a very benign environment.”

“We will have a recession that will have a credit effect” eventually, but may not be next year or in 2027.

REGULATION

“(Regulators) are taking a serious look at all of the extensive regulations that have been put in over the course of 15 or 20 years. They think the banks can provide far more capital and formal liquidity in the marketplace, it can be done in a safer way.”

Simplifying regulation would lead to “more growth,” he said. “Every bank may be different, but I think you see more mortgages, more in trading, more in lending, more and more investing.”

REGIONAL BANK CONSOLIDATION

“I think they should be allowed to merge, and I think the government should not decide who can merge… that’s why you have boards.”

“A lot of these smaller banks are exceptional… You don’t have to merge and compete. Some may feel they need to.”

JPMORGAN’S POTENTIAL ACQUISITIONS

“It is not likely… I feel great that we can grow organically everywhere. If there is any acquisition, it will probably be something smaller, data-related, or related to AI, that enhances what we’re doing.”

M&A REBOUND

“The Biden administration was clearly against deals. I mean, just knee-jerk reaction, and even if you want to do a deal that makes sense, it would take two years and not nine months, that’s a huge distraction for company. And there was huge other risks if the deal is rejected.”

“This administration is pro-business, it may not approve every acquisition, but it wants businesses to grow and expand and invest. So now’s the time, the doors are open, the economy is good and stocks are up. But just remember, these things kind of open and close. You know, if the economy has a problem there, they closed pretty quick. So you know, if you’re looking to do a deal, you have to do one that makes sense.”

EUROPEAN DIGITAL BANK

“The idea for the digital bank Chase UK was always to be the first European digital bank, so it was never meant to be only one country. The licenses in Germany are portable across Europe.”

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

AI is saving more than $2 billion, one of the biggest use cases today is related to risk and fraud, and there are big ones coming to marketing, errors, document handling.

CHINA RISKS

JPMorgan scrutinizes deals in China “extensively,” Dimon said. “The United States government says what we can and can’t do with certain Chinese companies, and we simply follow that guideline. But then we do our own risk underwriting.”

US GOVERNMENT TAKING STAKES IN COMPANIES

Dimon said he agrees with the U.S. government taking selective stakes in companies specifically for national security reasons. “We need to give these companies a chance to survive and build a real business before China undercuts them,” he said, citing Department of Defense contracts that can be used as collateral to loans and to help build plants in the U.S.

(Reporting by Tatiana Bautzer in Detroit and Nivedita Balu in Toronto; additional reporting by Nupur Anand and Manya SainiEditing by Rod Nickel, Michelle Price and Lananh Nguyen)